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UK couple welcomes rare identical triplets

A British couple beats the odds and welcomes rare identical triplets into the world.

Identical twins aren't all that uncommon, but it's extremely unusual for a single fertilized egg to divide into three separate embryos, according to ABC News.

In fact, the odds are about 1 in 160,000.

The triplet girls were born two months premature to Ian and Karen Gilbert on Aug. 2 at Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, spending six weeks in intensive care before they were deemed healthy enough to go home.

"At first they didn’t look real and you could pick them up with one hand. It was a bit of a shock," Ian Gilbert told ABC News. "Now [that] we’ve got them home, we are coming to terms with it. They are starting to feel like our own."

The couple already has a 3-year-old daughter and, believe it or not, is contemplating trying for a son, according to the BBC.

"Ian would like to try for a boy as he's a bit outnumbered," Karen Gilbert said. "But I'm not persuaded. I'm happy with what I've got."

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